Archive | May, 2011

Cantopop

31 May

Brand new Cantopop in L Place, owned by Robert Spina and Todd Darling, the owners of the popular Posto Pubblico, is a modern take on a typical Hong Kongese cha chaan teng or Chinese tea diner. It offers all the traditional dishes you would find in a backstreet cha chaan teng such as rice with char siu and fried egg, fried noodles, luncheon meat sandwiches and yin yang tea (black tea and coffee in the same cup), but here, executive chef Margaret Xu (the chef and owner of Yin Yang private kitchen, which is also on my list) insists on using natural and fresh ingredients locally sourced from Homegrown Foods, without a trace of MSG.

Inside Cantopop, however, it is anything but traditional. The walls are covered in pop art announcing words such as ‘yummy’ and ‘cool’ and several Chinese characters I wish I knew how to read. The kitchen is open so you can watch what goes on from the canteen-style benches or the smaller tables. The whole place oozes a fun, lively atmosphere, which left me smiling from the minute I walked in.

Obviously they don’t take bookings so if you arrive in the mad lunchtime rush, be prepared to wait for a table. We arrived a little after 1pm, so were able to get a table straightaway, although it was still very busy until 2pm when it was as if they hit a switch and the whole placed suddenly emptied.

As is standard in cha chaan tengs, we were each given a cup of weak Chinese tea as soon as we were seated. This is often served not to be drunk, but rather, to clean the utensils. I don’t think there is any danger of dirty utensils in Cantopop so it was indeed intended for drinking. I did, however, have to send my first cup back as it was luke warm.

After umm-ing and ahh-ing over the extensive menu for quite some time, we decided to get a few dishes and share them in true Canto-style (sharing is caring afterall). We settled for one Canto Kway Teow from the set lunch menu (includes a drink for $62). This was not exactly what we had expected. We had seen a dish ordered by a lady on the table behind us and, convinced that was the Kway Teow, we ordered it. As it turned out it was definitely not the same dish. Ours arrived within literally two minutes of placing the order, which was worrying to begin with. It also looked slightly anaemic compared to the dish behind us. Nevertheless it didn’t taste as bad as it looked. It had a subtle curried taste, which did need to be enhanced with a pinch of salt (perhaps MSG is sometimes necessary afterall!) and although it was clearly not freshly made as it arrived far too quickly, it tasted fresh enough. We also ordered Yin yang fried rice, which was a bowl of plain fried rice interestingly topped with two different sauces separated by some spring onions: a rich creamy prawn and mushroom sauce and a tomato-based chicken and vegetable sauce. Neither of them were spectacular (again probably through lack of flavour) but I did prefer the creamy sauce. Our favourite main course was the Shanghai black pepper pork udon – a very simple dish which could easily be made at home, but this by no means suggests that it was not a great dish. The pork was tender, the kale was fresh and the udon tasted home-made.

Yin yang fried rice

After our carb-overload we were feeling somewhat full, although we didn’t have that uncomfortable feeling that is often associated with foods rich in MSG. This of course meant that there was a definite dessert space waiting to be filled. Not wanting to be over-indulgent however, we chose a ginger crème brulée to share between the three of us. And what a beautiful crème brulée it was! It made that all-important crack when knocked with a spoon and was so perfectly creamy underneath. The hint of ginger was a welcome twist, giving it a little Asian spice.

Ginger crème brulée

The service, although obviously not five-star, was better than your average cha chaan teng. Dishes are served with a smile and placed carefully on the table, rather than almost thrown in front of you as you frequently see in a backstreet diner. Total bill came to $80 a head, so, although you’re paying more than in a regular cha chaan teng, you know that you’re paying for fresh, organic, quality food, including meat pertaining to animals which more than likely had a happy, healthy existence.

 

Cantopop

L Place
139 Queen’s Road Central
Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2857 2608

Date visited: Monday 30th May 2011

 

 

 

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Two Japanese restaurants in Manila

28 May

Umu at Dusit Thani Manila

I was in Manila last week for what will, I hope, be the first of many journalistic trips around Asia. I had previously heard numerous horror stories about Manila so I must admit I was a little bit nervous. I did, however, have the pleasure of staying in two very nice hotels, namely the Dusit Thani and the Makati Shangri-La, where I was treated like royalty and made to feel very welcome and safe. I don’t know if either hotel knew how much I love my food, but they both treated me to a meal at their respective Japanese restaurants and I think they might have had a slight inkling of my love for food once I was finished.

Umu, Dusit Thani’s award-winning Japanese restaurant, was renovated in 2009. It spans over a large space, accommodating over 200 diners, and has three separate traditional tatami rooms where diners can sit on mats on the floor. There is also a sushi counter, a robata counter and four teppanyaki tables. On the day I arrived in Manila, I had lunch at Umu with Danelle, the senior PR and events manager and Casey, the director of sales. We weren’t in a tatami room, but on actual chairs overlooking a beautiful garden and waterfall. At night, the garden is brought to life by strategically placed lighting and is even more beautiful.

Umu’s menu is huge, ranging from traditional sushi to Japanese salads to tepanyaki dishes to wagyu steak. I handed the menu over to Danelle, told her I eat anything (apart from sea urchin – there’s something about eating a nasty little beast whose only purpose is to cause pain, which doesn’t appeal to me so much) and suggested she order the best things on the menu. I don’t know how good everything we didn’t order was, but the dishes she selected were definitely spectacular. The first dish to appear, whilst I sipped on my fresh green mango juice (amazing), was Sashimi Nanasyumori, a platter with seven different kinds of sashimi and several of each kind. This was not just a regular sashimi platter, however, as in the centre of the dish was a little box emitting dry ice, making quite the entrance. The sashimi itself was incredibly fresh and absolutely delicious, particularly the scallops which were separated by a thin sliver of lemon.

Suzuki seabass and foie gras

Next up we had miso soup, ebi tempura (huuuge prawns in perfectly crisp tempura batter), suzuki seabass and foie gras, beautifully arranged and the flavours worked well together. The wagyu steak was lovely and tender but by this point I struggled to eat more than a couple of strips! Just when I thought I might pop, I was served the most amazing seafood fried rice which somehow found a little extra hole in my stomach. I think after giving up rice for 40 days over Lent, I am still welcoming it back into my life with open arms. Finally, as I had never tasted it before, my dining companions insisted I try the sake-flavoured ice cream. It was…. interesting. Not the most delicious ice cream I have ever tasted but definitely worth trying.

The service was commendable and the company was amazing – the friendliness of Filipinos combined with the excellent Thai service employed by the Dusit Thani (a Thai branded hotel) is like no other. Even though the lunch was supposed to be business, I felt as if I was eating with great friends!

Inagiku at Makati Shangri-La

Inagiku at the Makati Shangri-La is completely different to Umu so this is by no means a comparison. Apart from the two tatami rooms, the dining area is all contained in one smaller room. I had dinner here on my second night with Mica, the Shangri-La’s assistant communications manager. I was introduced to Ichikawasan, the friendliest restaurant manager, who, upon hearing that I live in Hong Kong, was adamant that, as HK offers pretty much every kind of cuisine, he wanted to select a menu for me comprising of dishes I was most likely to have never had in HK. So our menus were taken away from us, we were told to trust him (how could anyone not?!) and we were served dish upon dish of incredibly delicious and unusual Japanese cuisine.

The only dish I had tasted before but am always more than happy to taste again were the edamame beans we were served whilst we waited. Following this, we each were given three pieces of sushi which Inagiku’s award-winning chef, Wataru Hikawa (apparently the MOST award-winning sushi chef outside of Japan) creates in his own special way: the three pieces of seafood (salmon, scallop and tuna) are marinated in a delicious sauce before being lightly grilled and served atop the sushi rice. Incredible melt-in-the-mouth goodness. Tuna tartare in a lovely sesame soy sauce (I LOVE sesame) was delightful. I neeeeeeed that recipe. The king prawns in Inagiku’s “special” sauce (I wasn’t allowed to know the secret ingredients, but was later told it was not the healthiest of sauces – oh well) were perfectly tender and the sauce was wonderfully buttery (ah, there’s the unhealthiness). Star of the show has got to be the seabass: it was placed in a large sheet of seaweed along with some shitake mushrooms and wrapped up before being covered in salt and baked. I had to stop talking at this point as it was unbelievably good. Below is a picture of our waiter carving it up for us.

Salt-baked seabass

Although we were struggling to cope with any more food, we were each presented with a beautiful lacquer box containing cold udon noodles (this is not a complaint – they are supposed to be cold!). A small pot made of the same lacquer containing a soup-like sauce and condiments we were told was the dipping sauce for the noodles. I couldn’t manage them all but I would most definitely have them again. Last but by no means least, our dessert was a combination of sweet treats: fresh mango, fresh banana, red bean, a chocolate and pistachio crisp, mochi and a little ball of clear jelly with fresh strawberries inside. A-mazing and finished every last crumb even if I didn’t need it.

Wonderful service and great company once again. I have no idea about the prices of either restaurant but I am almost 100% certain they are a lot lower than dining in an equivalent restaurant here in HK, but I think that goes without saying. So if you happen to find yourself in Manila, I would most definitely recommend giving these two lovely restaurants a try!


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Brat

24 May

As I do most mornings, yesterday, come 11 o clock (ok fine, 10 o clock), I started thinking about what I would like for lunch. I was in  one of those indecisive moods where I couldn’t figure out exactly what I wanted, but just knew that it was not pasta (having had this three days running). I wanted something different, something tasty, something that would revive me from the sleepy state I was in after my 6am Circuit25 start. Looking down my restaurant list on my iPhone (yes, of course I have a list!) I came across Brat,  suggested it to my colleague, she thought it was a splendid idea, and so our lunch plan was hatched.

Brat, on the lower end of Elgin Street, is definitely different, certainly tasty, but actually pushed me into an even sleepier state than  before! They call themselves ‘Purveyors of awesome sausages’, offering a wide range of interesting sausages: some made with chicken, artichoke and sun dried tomatoes, some with pork, beef, bourbon, garlic and spices, some with chicken, basil, romano cheese and garlic, and even some vegetarian friendly ones with aubergine, red wine, garlic and fennel to name but a few. There is the option of sausages on a pizza, sausages in pasta, ‘brats & mash’, or just a very simple, down to earth hotdog.

The décor is very minimalist – bare wooden tables, plain white walls with big framed explanations of some of Brat’s signature sausages in black and white lettering. It looks clean and inviting and most of all, as I have said before, as there is little emphasis on the décor, we know that their main concern is making sure that absolutely nothing stands in the way of the food.

Great sausages are hard to come across in Hong Kong. You won’t find Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference sausages, or Butcher’s Choice ones. Instead, unless you go to Pacific Gourmet or any other special butcher, you will find cheap-looking (but probably not cheaply priced) sausages which probably only contain about 2% meat and 98% God-knows-what-else. I’d rather eat my own arm.

The sausages at Brat are pretty special though. With so many varieties, I think it probably took me a good 10 minutes of studying the menu to make a final decision, for which I did require the aid of our very attentive waiter. For between $98 and $108 depending on the ingredients of the ‘awesome’ sausage, you can select your choice of bun, mustard, condiment and side dish. My colleague chose the Gruyère sausage (chicken, turkey, gruyère cheese, emmental cheese and garlic) in a signature bun with truffle Dijon, mature cheddar and fries. Probably due to the colossal amounts of cheese in this hotdog, it was a little on the salty side and had to be evened out by adding Ketchup (one of my least favourite things in the world) but it was still a success. My choice was Sun dried tomatoes mozzarella sausage (chicken, turkey, sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella and basil) also in a signature bun, with Dijon mustard, tomato and basil. Oh and fries of course. This was definitely also a little too salty, but the tomato and basil sweetened it up a bit. I was originally quite put off by the idea of having a sausage made from chicken and turkey but, as this seemed to be the most popular variety, I decided to chance it and was pleasantly surprised. The signature bun was very lightly toasted and beautifully light and fluffy. The fries were a little too delicious – I suggested that this meant they were probably outrageously unhealthy and cooked in some kind of extra delicious fat but it’s best to just enjoy them and not think about things like that!

I think I have previously mentioned that my colleague is a bit of a mac ’n cheese fiend, (see review on JAR) so seeing it offered as a side dish on the menu, she insisted we order it to share. By this point I had completely forgotten that I had originally said I didn’t want pasta and so I accepted without question. It was only a very small portion but was probably completely unnecessary! Needless to say there was definitely no space in our stomachs to order a deep-fried Mars bar, which I probably wouldn’t have ordered even if I were starving anyway!

It was Monday lunchtime so we stayed off the juice, but Brat does offer a reasonable wine list and apparently some very good Belgian beers. One bottle of beer on the menu is priced at $200 so one would hope it is nothing less than spectacular! Total bill came to $301 for the two of us – pricey for a hotdog, but then again, this is not just any hotdog.

Brat

7 Elgin Street
Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2549 3088

Date visited: Monday 23rd May 2011

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Limehouse

17 May

Fairly hidden away on the pedestrianised side of Ship Street in Wan Chai you will find this sweet little restaurant. Limehouse looks, from the outside, like a tiny little house you would perhaps find up a side street in Brighton on the south coast of England. The interior is also very cosy, seating around 30 people over two floors. Blue wooden tables and blue wooden panelling on the walls also trigger images of the British seaside, although that is about all that does. The rest of the decor is very mismatched although I quite liked this: an array of empty wine bottles, a strange sketch on the wall, black and white photographs of chefs, a wooden train set, an acoustic guitar and a frame of the stereotypical English phrase “Keep calm and carry on.”

Three of us went for an early dinner at 7pm and when we arrived there was only one other table occupied in the entire restaurant. Towards the end of our meal, a few others filled up but it was by no means a full house, although it was only a Monday night. This did, of course, mean that the service was very good, especially as there were three waitresses huddled outside the kitchen right behind where we were seated, all waiting for something to do.

The drinks list, much like the menu itself, is very limited. They offer a selection of red and white wines (all just about reasonably priced), a couple of choices of beer and a few different types of water. That is it. No soft drinks, no juices, just wine, beer or water. Two of us ordered a glass of Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon which wasn’t bad, although it was a little bit too warm. Even though each glass was poured at the table in front of us, we were not offered the option of tasting it which I wasn’t too impressed with.

The actual menu (which changes seasonally) consists of four starters and five main courses, serving up modern British classics. Not a huge selection but helps one avoid panic ordering. For starters, two of us opted for the Stilton Cheese on Toast – two thickly-sliced pieces of baguette, toasted and smothered in stilton and walnuts, served with a green salad. This was delicious but rather heavy and rich. The walnuts and the green salad were a welcome accompaniment to balance the flavours and refresh the palate a little bit. Our third diner chose the Petite Fish and Chips which made me wonder if that was supposed to be petite, how big is normal?! It was anything but petite. The photo below was actually taken half way through eating this, so double what you see and that is what they call ‘petite’. I think it was made for giants. Nevertheless, it was very tasty – the fish melted in the mouth and the batter, although on appearance seemed heavy, was actually very light and fluffy.

For main course, I chose the Shepherd’s Pie which was, again, enormous, yet very good. Not too runny, not too stodgy and served in the ceramic dish it was cooked in, therefore piping hot. Sprigs of fresh herbs and little chunks of carrot made it extra special. The Not Exactly Bangers and Mash had an interesting flavour, sweetened by the caramelised onion gravy on top. This dish is named as such because the sausages are homemade without the usual casing. Instead, they are wrapped in caul fat. I strongly advise not asking the waitress what this is, as she proceeded to Google it and showed us a picture of caul fat. As it turns out, it is not too dissimilar to what regular sausages are encased in, but no one needs to see a picture of it, particularly if you’re dining with a vegetarian! There was no vegetarian option on the menu, but my friend was offered spaghetti in cream and truffle sauce, which was not too creamy, not overly truffley and tasted great.

The desserts on offer are not listed on the menu but depend on what is available on the day. We had the choice of Lemon Tart, Chocolate Tart, Bread and Butter Pudding or Sticky Toffee Pudding. Although we were, as my Grandpa used to say, TTT (tummy touching table), we opted to share the Sticky Toffee Pudding. Unfortunately they didn’t have any ice cream to accompany this, and the ‘custard’ was definitely not custard, but the pudding itself was divine and reminded me of the kind served in a cosy English pub.

Total bill came to $300 a head. They also offer a two-course lunch set (menu changes weekly) for $88 which I would like to try, although if the portions are anything like the size they serve for dinner I’m almost certain I would be in a completely useless comatose state all afternoon. But if you’re British and feeling homesick (and hungry) Limehouse is definitely worth a try.

Limehouse

35 Ship Street
Wan Chai
Hong Kong

T: +852 2528 5818

Date visited: Monday 16th May 2011

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Gyotaku

14 May

Yet another restaurant in the amazing building on Stanley Street which I often refer to (I am slowly completing my task of trying them all – I think I have perhaps another 3 or 4 to go. Any takers to help me out?), Gyotaku serves, in their words, ‘sushi creations’. Put plainly, it is Japanese food with a twist, although they still offer the classics too.

Very simple on the eye, Gyotaku offers nothing in the way of decorations, apart from a row of hanging lights – these seem to be in fashion in many of the restaurants I have visited on my Dim Sum Diaries ventures. When this is the case, you walk in thinking that, as they put no effort into the décor, the food must be brilliant.

Having unfortunately never been to Japan (it’s very high on my list of places to visit and, yes, most probably because of the amazing food), I always get somewhat confused by Japanese menus. Confused does not mean to say scared-off, as in fact it is quite the contrary: I have no idea what anything means so I want to try everything in order to find out.

The a la carte menu offers endless lists of rather strange, yet very intriguing dishes, such as scallop sushi with cherry tomatoes, Parma ham and basil sauce, wagyu beef sushi, foie gras sushi or duck breast sushi: a fusion of Japanese and European cuisine. As most of these are priced per unit and don’t come cheap, we figured this was perhaps a little too extravagant for lunchtime. I do fully intend on coming for dinner one day, however, to leave my taste buds wondering where on earth I have taken them.

The lunch menu offers a selection of more classic dishes ranging from $110 to $220 each. All come with a salad, rice or noodles, miso soup and pickles. As I often get food envy, we decided to order a set lunch each and share them in true Asian style. (‘Sharing is caring’ happens to be one of my most used phrases, particularly when it comes to food – usually other peoples’ food over my own; my emergency chocolate drawer tends not to abide by this rule). We had one Negitori bowl set (fatty tuna with spring onions and chili on a bowl of rice – delicious), one Grilled miso cod fish set (exactly what it says on the tin - perfectly cooked and, again, delicious), one Sliced beef komiyaki in teriyaki sauce (very thin slices of beef cooked in rather scrumptious teriyaki sauce with sesame seeds, onions and bean sprouts – a few fatty pieces but we still polished it off) and one fried shrimp set (huge tempura prawns, always a winner). We also had one 10-piece Omakase sushi to share between the four of us. This offered none of the above fancy sushi creations, but rather the usual suspects of prawn, salmon, tuna and so on – all very fresh and very tasty.

The service was very good. Our ever-smiling waitress was there to explain every dish to us (albeit in very broken English which I couldn’t understand at the best of times) and even offered us a free dessert each. This was a layered mango cheesecake with mango coulis which tasted so fresh as if it had only just been put together. As I possess a very sweet tooth, a free dessert, and a yummy one at that, always scores highly on my chart.

During the month of May, Gyotaku is offering a promotion of no 10% service charge, which again scored them extra points. Most restaurants in HK impose a service charge and most of them definitely don’t deserve it, so it’s very refreshing for somewhere which does deserve it to give you the option (of course we gave it to them anyway). With our discount, total bill came to $866 – pricier than the average set lunch but it’s not every day that Mummy Wilko is here to accompany me on my Dim Sum Diaries trips.

Gyotaku

12/F Stanley 11
11 Stanley Street
Central
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 3902 3813

Date visited: Wednesday 11th May 2011

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One-thirtyone

11 May

Although this restaurant is a little far from our comfort zone that is the industrialised bubble of the island, One-thirtyone is definitely worth the forty-five minute taxi journey to get to this tranquil part of Sai Kung, especially given how spoilt we are with the low cost of taxis here. It’s advisable to call the restaurant when in the taxi so that the driver can speak to them and get directions as it’s a little off the beaten track and you might otherwise drive straight past it.

As you approach, you pass a row of wooden boats that have been turned into a little herb garden; all the herbs they use in their cooking are grown there and freshly picked everyday. Past the herb garden, iron gates lead to you a terracotta-coloured 3-storey house with a beautifully manicured lawn (yes grass in Hong Kong!) overlooking the sea: such a perfect setting which reminds you how lucky we are to be able to jump into a taxi in the bustling city and shortly afterwards arrive in paradise.

One-thirtyone seats only 25 diners at a time, offering a four-course lunch ($500) or six-course dinner ($900), so understandably, bookings are taken weeks or even months in advance.

Probably more of a special occasion place and as our only celebration was the fact that we had managed to get a table after weeks on the waiting list, we decided to dress up (‘English garden party’ was our theme) and make a day of it. So, in our colourful pretty dresses and waistcoats respectively, we were seated outside under an awning, facing the house-turned-restaurant.

The waiters were all very attentive, although they failed to understand what a Pimms was. We had to send it back three times before they finally got it right, and then their bottle ran out! Needless to say, as it was such a beautiful day with everyone’s watches showing Pimms ‘o clock, there were a few grumbles of disappointment. They apologised by showing us the outrageously priced wine list, although this was to be expected; when you’re in the middle of nowhere and require some wine, restaurants are fully aware that they can get away with charging the earth for it.

This is one of those places where the menu (which changes monthly) is a series of words put together, almost as a non-sequeteur. For example our starter: ‘Carbonara Iberico asparagus egg 65c’. You almost want to add Gordon Ramsay’s “done” at the end of it. This starter was beautiful and although I am not usually one for food photos, this time I will make an exception:

Head chef, Caith Chow, came to our table to announce and describe each dish, which for me always wins bonus points. Second course, ‘Cappuccino wild mushroom winter truffle’, did in fact appear like a cappuccino with frothy cream and truffle shavings on top of a wild mushroom soup. I’ve told you how I feel about fungus and how I’ve only recently taken a liking to it, so I must say that this was a little too rich for me. Nevertheless there was not a dirty bowl in sight and I even polished it off so they must have done something right!

Third course, ‘lamb loin shoulder eggplant couscous’, was divine, although they let themselves down a little by slightly overcooking the lamb shoulder. That said, the braised lamb loin was perfect, accompanied by charcoal-cooked eggplant puree and couscous which was interestingly made from chopped up cauliflower rather than couscous itself. I have always been of the mentality that cauliflower is the most pointless of all the vegetables, but was intrigued by the way it was presented this time and it was indeed a pleasant addition. I particularly enjoyed the shallot and lavender chutney; Chef Caith told us he always prefers to serve lamb with lavender rather than the usual mint and I have to agree that he’s on to something there.

Dessert was hands down the star of the show: ‘flower rose petal chocolate vanilla’. Everything on the plate from the petals (made from strawberry, cream cheese and sugar) to the soil (made from chopped nuts and chocolate) was edible and so delicious that I didn’t utter a single word until I had devoured what was on my plate. In fact there was silence around the whole table.

Bear in mind that the restaurant is kind of far from anywhere so accept that it will take a long time to get a taxi. I believe it took us around an hour to track down the necessary three taxis to get us back to the island. During this time we tried to order another bottle of rose, and when it took forever to arrive, we were told that they didn’t have any more chilled bottles which was slightly disappointing for a top-end restaurant.

My complaints are few, however, as all in all it was a lovely day, with delicious food and perfect company in a beautiful setting. It’s always nice to get out of the city and do something different. Admittedly this kind of different isn’t possible every weekend as sadly not all of our bank balances will allow it. After adding on the cost of water, wine and service, we were looking at a rather punchy bill exceeding $1000 a head. Not for me, however, as this was one of the only times I was thankful for my nasty bronchitis and antibiotics meaning I was spared the cost of the wine I couldn’t drink!

One-thirtyone
131 Tseng Tau Village Road
Shap Sze Heung
Sai Kung
New Territories
Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2791 2684

Date visited: Saturday 7th May 2011

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Mummy’s Chicken Soup

3 May
I have been bedridden for the past three days suffering from bronchitis, only allowed to leave the house for a brief visit to the doctors. Thus I have been unable to continue with my task of checking out new restaurants and so thought I would give you something a little different today: a recipe. This will please all my readers who don’t have the pleasure of living in Hong Kong (come on, I know there are millions of you following me) as you can actually try this one at home.

Fortunately, my mother arrived in HK just before I got ill, so she has been here to offer me her unyielding motherly TLC. Actually, this is not strictly true as she has her own schedule and her own friends to please, so has been out gallivanting during the daytimes, leaving me with plenty of water, orange juice and… her infamous Venezuelan chicken soup*.

We have grown up with this chicken soup, passed on lovingly to my mum by my abuela in Venezuela and so on. I was almost asked not to share it as it is a Segnini family secret but then we decided that the world needs to know how yummy this soup is. For me, this soup is usually associated with feeling poorly as it contains all sorts of goodies to give one one’s strength back. It is also ideal for a horrible wintry day, although Venezuela doesn’t really suffer many of these, so in fact it works perfectly on a hot summer’s day too!


Ingredients (serves 6-8):

1 whole chicken, washed, skinned and broken into pieces but left on the bone (chicken breast pieces can also be added for extra meat but it is important to have some meat on the bone for the stock to work)
1 large celery stick (leafy part best) broken into two or three big pieces
1 handful of coriander
1 large white onion cut in two
1 red pepper cut in two
2-3 whole garlic cloves
1 whole chilli (optional)
8-10 whole peppercorns
1 2-inch chunk of ginger (optional)
3 carrots cut into 2cm chunks
3 large potatoes cut into chunks
1 large piece of pumpkin, cut into chunks
1 leek cut into rounds
3-4 corn on the cobs cut in two
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Place chicken, celery, coriander, onion, pepper, garlic, chilli, ginger and peppercorns in a large pan with two litres of cold water.
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer with the lid on for about an hour, until the water changes colour, becoming like a chicken consommé.
Remove celery and coriander. The onion, garlic and chilli may also be removed at this stage but I prefer them left in to create a stronger flavour.
Add the remaining ingredients, bring back to the boil and simmer with the lid on until all the vegetables have softened (approximately 30 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste.

If you are adverse to spicy things (aka a wimp) then the ginger and chilli can be taken out before serving (or just not added in the first place if you’re an outrageous wimp). Alternatively, to give the soup an extra kick, particularly if you’re feeling as under the weather as I have been, they can be cut into smaller pieces before serving.

I have always preferred my chicken soup attacked with a fork prior to eating: mush all the vegetables with a fork and shred the chicken away from the bone. This changes the consistency of the soup and is particularly effective when struck down by evil maladies as chewing can be pretty exhausting!

Buen provecho!

*Not unlike a good curry, this soup matures in flavour the day after cooking. On the third day it is even better. I am yet to taste how good it is on the fourth day but I would imagine the flavours will be even richer.

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